Birds of a Feather
by Sunhawk1
Summary: This is a Ranma alternaverse fic, starting, as many seem to do, at the Neko-ken training (taking place at age 6 here). In this story, someone rescues Ranma from Genma right after the training. Hopefully this'll be a new idea... let me know what you thi


Birds of a Feather  
A Ranma 1/2 Alternaverse Fanfic  
  
Prologue  
  
Xiang Sho-wen was tired. Ever since she was sent from the village on a three-month journey to acquire new knowledge and experiences for the benefit of the tribe, she had been feeling homesick.  
  
Oh, it was quite an honor to be so chosen; only those with both the martial and survival skills needed to make one's way in the outside world and the keen intellect and cunning to know what is needed are picked by the Council of Elders. However, she did have a young six-year old child waiting for her, and even if her husband, Gel, was with him, she missed Mu-tsu.  
  
Her journey had so far been successful; she had learned of several new innovations in the field of medicine, and was bringing back several samples of some rare herbs previously unknown to the Nichiezu, among other prizes. Now she was heading back; she hoped that these satisfied Khu-lon.  
  
Her attention was suddenly attracted by a reddish blur heading straight for her. Started, she got into a defensive stance.  
  
'Great. Another pig-headed idiot come to "teach the amazon b**** a lesson." All I need.'  
  
Suddenly the blur stopped in front of her, and resolved into a small boy dressed in a red shirt and pants, covered with hundreds of minute scratches. He looked feral, crouching on all fours and... purring?  
  
She blinked. Either he was quite crazy or... she looked at the scratches, and then at his eyes. Yep. Neko-ken. Some idiot had put this boy through that... torture, and, miracle of miracles, he had survived. She thought, somewhat detachedly, that she'd have to 'discuss' this with his teacher. Quite firmly.  
  
Meanwhile, she'd have to do something about the poor boy in front of her. She bent down and eased a hand out towards him. As he hissed, she slowed down, but eventually made it to his neck and started scratching him behind the ears. After a minute, he boy began purring and closed his eyes in contentment, and then, in sleep.  
  
****  
  
Sho-wen sighed as she looked at the pit, still with several starving cats inside, along with traces of blood. She had felt that, being a foreigner here in Japan, it would be best to use the authorities, rather than being more... direct. She had explained that she had found a boy, severely traumatized, and told them what to look for. Eventually they had found it, but the man at the scene, a tall, fat, and bald man in white covered with scratches literally disappeared when the police showed up. Now she needed to figure out what to do with the boy, who was in the hospital being treated.  
  
****  
  
After questioning the boy (who's name was Ranma), both Sho-wen and the interrogating officer were stunned, although the officer had the worst of it. Finding out what had been done to Ranma and why was bad enough (in the poor man's eyes), but the fact that the person doing it to him was his own father...  
  
Clearly, his father wasn't fit to raise a child.  
  
"Where is your mother, Ranma?" he asked gently.  
  
"Papa said that she was dead," the boy said, kind of sadly.  
  
The officer sighed. This was getting complicated.  
  
"Do you have any aunts or uncles?"  
  
Ranma furrowed his brow. "No."  
  
Sho-wen raised an eyebrow, and motioned the officer outside.  
  
"So what will happen to him now? His father isn't worth anything, his mother's dead, and we don't know his last name, or any clues to surviving relatives."  
  
"Well, he most likely will go to an orphanage, since there isn't anyone to take him in. Unfortunately, the chances of him getting adopted are rather low."  
  
Sho-wen thought for a moment. The boy clearly had great potential, if he had survived the Neko-ken training. And he was the same age (roughly) as Mu-tsu...  
  
"Would it be acceptable for me to adopt him and take him back home? It would be better for him than an orphanage, and I have afeeling that that... father... or his would try to retrieve him."  
  
He considered this. Better an adoption than an orphanage, and she did seem to be responsible, and had a family as well. It was somewhat iregular, but he felt he could justify it.  
  
"That... would be quite welcome. However, we would like t keep a record of where we can contact you if we find anything out about the child."  
  
Sho-wen nodded in approval. It looked like she was bringing something else besides books and herbs back to the tribe... and Mu-tsu would have a brother! 


End file.
